February 24, 2003

Business as Usual at Turner

BY JON LAFAYETTE

The departure of respected broadcast executive Jamie Kellner from the top spot at Turner Broadcasting will have a minimal effect on the company's cable networks, media buyers said.

?They were at the top of the list in terms of ratings and everything else before he got there,? said Chris Geraci, director of national broadcast at OMD. ?There hasn't been that much of a change since he's been there, so I don't view it as being that much of a factor.?

Turner should lament the lack of change because it means Kellner didn't get to implement all of his plans, said Kathryn Thomas, director of programming at Starcom Entertainment. ?I think there was limited understanding of what that could bring to some of the niche Turner networks, and they were slightly resistant and not as wholehearted supporters as they might have been,? she said.

Thomas thinks that under Kellner, AOL Time Warner's Warner Bros. studio would have eventually become more closely aligned with its cable networks. As head of the WB, Kellner will now report to the head of Warner Bros., leaving the cable networks unattached to the studio, which is a loss to channels like Cartoon Network, Thomas said.

Under Kellner, Cartoon Network and the WB on broadcast shared programming. Cartoon Network general manager Jim Samples said that reports of friction between the two networks were overblown and that plans to continue to share programming have already been put in place and will benefit both networks.

Kellner's biggest impact may have come with his oversight of CNN, which during his tenure fell behind Fox News Channel in the ratings. With Kellner at the helm, the network brought in broadcast anchors such as Aaron Brown, Connie Chung and Paula Zahn to provide star power, with limited results.

?CNN has bigger problems than just branding. CNN is getting its legs cut out from under it by a very right-wing, conservative outlet that mirrors the tenor of the nation,? said Starcom's Thomas.

?I still think CNN is such a great franchise and such a great brand name,? said OMD's Geraci. ?If he tried to hire different talent and revitalize some of the programming, that's fine. I was happy to see that none of the strategies involved taking one side of things.?